Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Iranian leaders in Tehran on Sunday, Iranian and Syrian media reported, marking his second trip to Iran, a major wartime ally since the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011.

Nour News, a website close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported that Assad had met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi. He said the leaders welcomed the strong ties between their nations and pledged to further strengthen the relationship.

“Everyone now sees Syria as a power,” Khamenei told Assad at the meeting, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, seen as close to the country’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guards. country. “Syria’s respect and credibility is now much more than before.”

Mr Assad, for his part, said the strong relations between Iran and Syria served as a bulwark against US and Israeli influence in West Asia.

“America today is weaker than ever,” Syrian news agency SANA said, quoting Assad. “We must continue on this path,” he added, praising Iran’s help in Syria’s “fight against terrorism”.

In an apparent reference to a recent spate of deadly attacks in Israel by Palestinian assailants, Assad also said the Palestinian cause has once again captured the world’s attention.

Mr Assad has rarely traveled abroad since his government’s crackdown on civil unrest in Syria in 2011 led to a devastating civil war and made him a global pariah.